- South Korea prepares 'wartime' budget -

South Korea will roll out a $17 billion "wartime" supplementary budget and expand fuel tax cuts as the war in Iran pushes up energy prices, the government said Thursday.

"The government will draw up a supplementary budget worth 25 trillion won next month -- funded by excess tax revenue -- in response to the prolonged Middle East conflict," the government said in a statement.

- Japan releases oil reserves -

Japan said it had started to release another part of its strategic oil reserves Thursday as it looks to temper the impact on the resource-poor nation from the surge in prices caused by the war.

Japan is the fifth-biggest importer of oil, with more than 90 percent of it from the Middle East.

- Oil up, equities markets fall -

Oil prices rose and equities fell Thursday as confidence in a quick end to the Middle East war waned.

Brent was up more than three percent to trade at $105.57 a barrel at 0845 GMT. West Texas Intermediate rose more than three percent to $93.31 a barrel.

After gains on Wall Street and Europe Wednesday, shares fell in Asia while the main European markets all opened lower.

- France calls G7 economic meeting -

France, which holds the G7 Presidency, on Monday will host a meeting bringing together the group's finance ministers, energy ministers and central bank governors, Finance Minister Roland Lescure told RTL radio on Thursday.

The meeting, to be held via video call, will address what Lescure described as a "convergence of energy issues, economic issues and inflation issues".

- German consumer confidence takes hit -

German consumer sentiment fell heading into April due to the Middle East war, a survey showed Thursday, adding to the woes facing Europe's top economy.

The forward-looking indicator, published by pollsters GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM), fell 3.2 points to minus 28.

"Consumers are expecting inflation to take off again and the economic recovery to be held back as a result of higher energy prices," Rolf Buerkl, head of consumer climate at NIM, said.

- Russian oil arrives in Philippines -

A ship carrying more than 700,000 barrels of Russian crude oil has arrived in the Philippines, a source told AFP Thursday, days after the Southeast Asian country declared a national energy emergency over the Middle East war.

The Sierra Leone-flagged Sara Sky, bearing crude from Russia's ESPO pipeline arrived on Monday, with documents showing the consignee as Petron Corp, operator of the Philippines' sole oil refinery, said the source.

The Philippines is heavily dependent on imported fuel, the cost of which has hit historic highs since the war forced the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

- US issues E15 fuel waiver -

The US Environmental Protection Agency issued a temporary emergency waiver to allow countrywide sales of higher-ethanol E15 fuel in the summer, Administrator Lee Zeldin said, easing smog controls amid government concerns about adequate supply.

The government has issued similar waivers in recent years under both the Trump and Biden administrations.

- WTO warning -

As World Trade Organization ministers prepared to meet in Cameroon, the head of the International Chamber of Commerce warned that the conflict could cause the "worst industrial crisis" in decades.

"The head of the International Energy Agency has warned that the world is facing an energy crisis more severe than the oil shocks of the 1970s," John Denton said. "From a business perspective, we believe this could yet become the worst industrial crisis in living memory."

- Taiwan hit by gas supply fake news -

Taiwan has been targeted by a wave of online disinformation claiming the island's gas supplies will soon be completely depleted due to disruptions from the Middle East war -- a false narrative officials say could cause panic and undermine confidence in the government.

The false social media posts include a persistent claim that Taiwan will run out of liquefied natural gas (LNG) within 11 days and face electricity blackouts due to Iran's restrictions on tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Taiwanese authorities say there are sufficient LNG reserves for March and April.

burs/gv/yad